Rival Cartels in Mexico Make Peace, Turn on Mutual Enemy near Texas Border

Two drug cartels with a long history of animosity appear to have set their differences aside in an attempt to gang up on a rival organization. The new alliance led to the continued fierce turf war over control of lucrative drug and human trafficking routes into Texas.

Last week, the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, which is based in Nuevo Laredo, announced they were looking into an alliance with the Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel. The announcement came through a video where the two groups claimed to want to participate in an armistice that Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador discussed in one of his news conferences.

In the video, a group of gunmen in black uniforms with body armor and carrying various weapons stand behind a hooded spokesman who claims that they are in peace talks with the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel and they are on the same page.

The message comes at a time when CDN-Los Zetas have been waging a fierce turf war with the Reynosa faction of the Gulf Cartel, also known as Metros. The CDN-Los Zetas have been pushing east and gaining territory for several months. Most recently, there have been several shootouts in and around Miguel Aleman, just south of Roma, Texas, where the Metros appear to be on the losing side. At the same time, the Metros have been fighting off numerous incursions on the eastern side of Reynosa as the Escorpiones faction has been pushing west from Rio Bravo.

The peace talks between Escorpiones and CDN-Los Zetas could make the turf war more difficult for Los Metros. However, Los Metros claims to have the support of Cartel Jalisco New Generation and another group called Old School Zetas.

In the video message, the CDN-Los Zetas spokesman claimed to be interested in a truce for peace that a group of activists had originally proposed. That group searches for mass graves to find missing loved ones. Delia Quiroa, the leader of the activists, had asked all of Mexico’s cartels to look into a truce of sorts to end forced disappearances and allow them to search for gravesites. Earlier this month, Lopez Obrador claimed that he favored finding new ways to bring peace.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.